You've been making your tea all wrong, according to scientists

Food scientist Dr. Quan Vuong claims that heating your water in the microwave will get you the most benefits from your tea.

Microwaving the water will generate better taste while also activating 80 percent of the tea's caffeine.

: it's not that tough to make. Take hot water, let a tea bag float around in it for a while, add your accouterments (sugar, milk, honey, what have you), and drink away. But food scientist Dr. Quan Vuong has something to say about making tea the right way.

His trick: microwave the water and tea bag.

Now, if you're a tea drinking purist, you probably take joy in the act of heating water in a kettle and waiting for that steam to hiss. But Voung claims heating your water in the microwave will get you the most benefits from your tea. Those benefits he speaks of are generating better taste while also activating 80 percent of the tea's caffeine, polyphenol (antioxidants), and theanine (amino acid) compounds, according to ABC
.

Vuong suggests making your tea according to these steps:

Fill your cup with hot water and add your tea bag.

Heat the cup in the microwave for 30 seconds on half power.

Let the cup cool for one minute after microwaving.

So how much tea do you have to drink to reap the benefits? Dr. Vuong suggests "high consumption," or three cups a day.

He's also experimented with other microwaved foods to see if the same increase in nutritional benefits occurs. The products he's seen success with: lemon pomace and macadamia nut skins — not quite as accessible or common as tea.